The Truth About Ron Weasley
by Itchking of Angmar
Summary: If there's one thing that any HP fan's noticed, it's that Ron is pretty thick when it comes to the right girl. So thick, in fact, that Fred has to do something about it. But will it work?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing. ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. The characters and the settings belong to JK, and the brilliant and wonderfully fresh plot belongs to my older sister. (To be called Harry Plotter.) I just put it in writing. My own plots are corny and conventional. Anyway, you can expect longer chapters and faster updates here.

Ronald Weasley was lying on his bed, thinking.

Yeah. Kind of surprising, isn't it?

What's even more surprising, though, was that he was thinking about the person he usually paid the least amount of attention to.

No, not Eloise Midgen… Hermione Granger.

She's always helped Ron and Harry out of terrible scrapes and horrible grades. (No matter how much she'd complain about it at first.) Suddenly Ron felt guilty. He'd never really repaid her, except when he stood up for her in the regular Malfoy situations. In fact, he never even told her that he loved having her as a friend. And he had to admit, she sometimes knew more about him and Harry than they did.

And this year would be N.E.W.T. year, it being the seventh, and Ron would need Hermione's help more than ever. "I'm definitely going to make it up to her this year," he told himself.

(Now let's go to the notorious Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. What on earth are the twins _doing_?)

Fred, George, and now Lee Jordan were doing the usual: enforcing sinister (or nearly so) ideas into innocent children's minds with their half-dangerous inventions and ignoring the impatient tuts of cautious parents. "They _are_ the limit," they'd say, as Hermione once did or, "You could really get hurt with those things," ("That's kind of the point, lady," Lee would mutter under his breath) and sometimes even "This so-called shop of yours is a waste of time and money; can't you three do something worthwhile?" Of course, they were used to it.

"Hey, Forge," said Fred one day, just after shooing away another wary, ranting mother.

"Yes, Gred?" replied the other, closing the door behind the same woman.

"Ever thought of finishing school?" asked Fred.

"Are you feeling okay?" said George, somewhere between genuine and mock concern.

"I'm serious," said Fred, grinning. "I mean, that scum-bag Umbridge is gone—"

"—and Hoggy-warty _is_ the best place to advertise—"

"—since business is kind of bad from September onwards… right, Forge?"

"You're absolutely right. Lee, hear that?" yelled George, his voice filling the basement of the building, "You're going to have to take over while we're gone!" Lee shouted an "Okay," in response.

Little did George know that his twin was up to something much more than advertisements.

(A few days later…)

Ron was walking around Diagon Alley with Ginny and Harry for school supplies. Hermione said she'd meet them later that afternoon at Flourish and Blotts (where they were heading). Harry was unaccountably happy (well, nearly; nothing really made him that cheerful anymore) because he had already found a place of his own. It was hard for him not to gloat. Because of this, it was hard for Ginny and Ron not to laugh. "Well," Ginny said, "now we know where we'll celebrate Christmas when Mum's cross." Ron was laughing absentmindedly when…

BANG!

"Watch where you're—_Fred_? _George_?"

"Hello, ickles," they replied in a very Peeves-like way. "What are you doing here?" Ginny asked, surprised. "Well," started Fred, "we sent a letter to Dumbledore saying we want to finish our studies. We were in our last year after all, so we figured we'd have another go at it. He said we could, and he gave us our lists. So here we are." Harry snorted. "You _want_ to finish your studies? As if," he said. "What's going on?" interrupted a familiar voice. They all turned around to see Hermione Granger. "Hello, fourth ickle," said George. Fred just waved and smiled (Ron noticed this and found it very odd). "Hi, Hermione," said the remaining three cheerfully. "Will someone _not_ call me ickle and tell me what the twins are doing in a bookshop?" she laughed.

"You wouldn't believe it even if Dumbledore told you," Ginny retorted. "Try me," Hermione said in mock threat, waving her hand in a bring-it-on sort of way. "Well," Harry began, "they're going to finish school… _willingly_." He laughed again. "That's… well, wow! That's wonderful! If either of you need help… I'm an open book!" she said, in the same tone she had used when she found out that Ron, instead of Harry, had been made prefect. "You can say that again," Ron whispered to Harry, "she's read so many that she's become one." A moment later he felt guilty again.

Soon—too soon, for Ron especially—September 1st came and all six of them made their way to Platform 9 ¾. They loaded their trunks a few minutes later and seated themselves comfortably in a compartment. Astonishingly, Hermione and the twins were discussing N.E.W.T.'s quite enthusiastically, and to Ron, Fred was talking to Hermione as though she were some foreign exchange student or something like Fleur Delacour. He could sense Fred was up to something… he just wished he knew _what_…

"Ron?" Hermione called later that afternoon, while the train was still moving.

"Yeah?" he replied, his mouth full of Chocolate Frog.

"Can I have a Chocolate Frog?"

As this was a question Hermione had never asked before, and since Ron wasn't exactly keen on giving up any sort of confectionery, it took him several seconds to think it over. Then he remembered how much Hermione had done for him… it was the least he could do, after all. Slowly, almost reluctantly, Ron passed her one, with a half-audible "Sure." Ginny, who was sitting opposite him, was giggling uncontrollably, for she knew her brothers well—they were very protective of their Chocolate Frogs. Suddenly, completely out of nowhere, Fred said, "Here, Hermione, have two of mine." "Thanks, Fred!" she said in genuine appreciation, taking both his offer and Ron's 'sacrifice'. Harry made a mental note to talk to Ron about this in the near future, as he knew that Ron Weasley didn't give his Chocolate Frogs to just anyone.

Later, in the Great Hall, the six of them found seats together as Professor Dumbledore made his usual welcome speech. It was a while before he said, "Tuck in!" and the food appeared. Ginny was laughing at Ron and Harry because they were stuffing their faces—as usual—with all the food they could reach without leaning over and staining their robes. But Ron paused when he saw, on Harry's other side, Hermione chatting animatedly with Fred. For once, Hermione was enjoying herself with Fred—_Fred, _of all people.

Ron saw this as very peculiar indeed.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Found at the beginning of this story.

Harry, Ron, Seamus, Dean, Neville, and now the twins as well, made their way up to the Gryffindor boys' dormitory. Harry was sniggering slightly at Ron's grumbling; he complained that the twins would leave something in his bed, like they used to at home. Fred said, when he saw the sixth and seventh beds, "Never misses a trick, Dumbledore."

They all got into pajamas and George was forced into telling the story of how he and Fred were back at school again when Neville had asked why. Fred had gone out to "absorb the atmosphere again." Suddenly, there had been several _clunks_, a yell, and a thud. They all ran outside, finding Colin Creevey taking pictures of Fred, who was sprawled on the floor. He had apparently tried to get to the girls' dormitory.

"I thought you knew about that!" Ron said, remembering his fifth year.

"I forgot," said Fred crossly, after Ron had helped him up.

"I'll say," Seamus muttered to Dean. "What were you going up for anyway?"

"Hermione," Fred mumbled.

"Hermione?" Harry asked, feeling that something was going on. "Why?"

"Nosey for a hero, aren't you? Anyway, well… I need some help with the N.E.W.T.s, okay? Happy? So I went to ask her," Fred answered, sounding very exasperated.

"Couldn't you have waited until morning?" Neville inquired, shrugging.

"Well… yeah—I could've… ah, forget it… 'Night!"

Harry, as well as Ron, noted this entire situation with great curiosity.

The next morning, which was Tuesday, after Fred had whispered something to George (and George sniggered and cried, "Brilliant!"), he went down and sat, Ron noticed, with Hermione. They were having quite a conversation. This sort of bothered Ron. Later, at Potions, Snape was scolding Hermione and Fred for talking in class. At Herbology, Fred and Hermione readily partnered up for their experimental crossbreeding project. Even at Charms, they sat together and practiced. George didn't seem to mind this; he kept pairing with Neville or Dean. And come lunch, Fred and Hermione were excitedly discussing their next lessons. They became inseparable.

Now, this didn't bother Ron at all; it annoyed him to pieces.

Harry kept asking him what was the matter. "Nothing," he kept protesting. He didn't like seeing Fred with Hermione ("It's not _natural_!" he had said continually to Harry), and it bothered him even more that he had this notion at all. "I mean, if I can't know what's going on," he complained to Ginny, who was giggling at his problem when she heard, "it should at least stop." "Even _you_ would get it by now," Ginny retorted, sounding very matter-of-factly. "Won't _you_ tell me?" Ron said hopefully. "If you don't know," Ginny said, getting up and looking haughtily at her brother, "then I'm not going to tell you." She walked away. "Girls," Ron muttered as he left lunch for Care of Magical Creatures.

It seemed that everything about girls annoyed Ron these days. Harry noticed this. He even watched Fred and Hermione, always laughing, always together. It wasn't 'unnatural' as Ron had said, but it certainly was unusual of Fred. Harry asked George about this one day, but he had just said, "There's nothing between them. It's just for N.E.W.T.s, is all." He did not believe Ron's brother for one minute.

Harry even noticed that Ron was paying attention in class like the rest of them, taking down notes every so often, and picking up his grades. He supposed Ron was trying to live up to Hermione's standards without having her around. Ron also managed to stay awake during History of Magic… even Hermione never achieved this. He even carried around that ridiculous planner that Hermione had given him years ago; Harry didn't even have to look because he would always hear silly things like, _"Do it now and you won't strain, homework first, you thick pea-brain!" _It was really getting a bit sickening. Ron seemed to be trying to finally outdo Fred and George.

Even at Quidditch, Ron was getting better. Harry, who had returned as Seeker, thought it was because he didn't care about making mistakes anymore; Ginny, one of the Chasers, thought he was motivated by the twins' return; but Fred and George, back as Beaters, said—and were quite sure—he was just angry.

And Ron himself wasn't exactly happy about everyone changing. Ginny was ignoring him, Harry was being very quiet, the twins were being extra-annoying, and Hermione talked only half as much to him (a great feat!). It drove him crazy. He spent more time at the Quidditch pitch than all the House teams put together, just throwing the Quaffle, racing it, and then hitting it across the field. This showed how irritated he was. Often, the twins watched him, baiting him all the way. Of course, they did this until one day when George was found to have a black eye after returning from the pitch.

This was Ron's worst year at Hogwarts, despite his better marks.

"I'd blame teenage angst," said Seamus to him one day, "except we're becoming of age." Now even his Irish roommate, as well as everyone else, infuriated him.

Hermione was having the time of her life. Fred was being serious about his studies yet amusing and witty at the same time, and she finally found the side of him that she liked. But she felt guilty about ignoring Ron lately. She really had to start balancing her time, especially now at the coming of age and graduation.

"Think, Hermione, _think_!"

A/N: This chapter sucks. It's short and it's not as nice as the first. I hate it. Waaaaaaaaaaa… review, please…


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Do I really have to keep writing this part? (Sigh.) Nothing here belongs to me, not even the plot, it is my sister's, end of disclaimer.

Hermione was in the library as usual, finishing her homework. As it was free period, there were other students there, too, mostly sixth and seventh years. She was looking over her Transfiguration homework when she saw Ron enter the library. 'Now is the moment, Hermione,' she thought to herself, 'you won't get another chance any time soon.' So she walked up to where he was sitting, but she suddenly pulled herself back onto the other side of the shelf. 'No, I can't!' she panicked. 'I can _not_ do this…'

Suddenly, a book was taken from the shelf. Of all places, the book was right beside her head, and of all people, it was Ron who pulled it out, and (finally) of all things to happen, Hermione looked around in surprise. "Hi Ron," she said meekly.

"Hermione!" Ron said, smiling through the gap in the books on the shelf. It disappeared as quickly as it had come. "Where's Fred?" he finished grumpily. "Oh," Hermione began, "he's… um…"—she really didn't know—"…uh, somewhere." She jumped from her place to follow him to where he was sitting. "Okay," Ron replied, the smile coming back a bit. Only now did he appreciate Hermione following him.

Ron had to think. Striking up a conversation would be best to break the ice right now, considering he had started avoiding her, Harry, and everyone else since Halloween, and it was now nearing Christmas. He was so moody about it he even broke up with Lavender Brown (although he had been meaning to for quite a while). So he broke the awkward silence with, "Hey, Hermione… um—"

"Yes?" she said animatedly, as though someone had aimed a Cheering Charm at her.

"Well," started Ron again, putting his hand through his hair in slight surprise, "um, I kind of need help—in, ah…"

"N.E.W.T.s?"

"Er… yeah."

"But you've been doing so well on your own. Not that I won't help you, of course," she added hastily. "Okay, sure. Why not?"

"Thanks, Hermione."

Hermione looked over her notes, which were surprisingly accurate with Ron's. "So… what would you like to begin with?" she asked, feeling half-eager to start tutoring him, and half-awkward sitting there. Ron thought for a moment. Then he remembered something he'd always wanted to ask her. "Can we start with the Curse of the Bogies you promised to teach me in first year?" he piped up hopefully. Hermione laughed softly, so as not to upset Madam Pince. "Of course!" she whispered ecstatically.

Ron thought it was a very good lesson, indeed.

Later, Ron and Hermione made their way to dinner together, talking and occasionally laughing. When they reached the entrance, however, none other than Fred Weasley interrupted their random but enjoyable conversation. Ron didn't think it was so enjoyable anymore. "Hi Ron! Hermione, can you sit with me again?" asked Fred. The anger that Ron had let go of that afternoon had found its way back to its master. He could feel his ears get hot and red, but Fred pretended not to notice. Hermione, on the other hand, did, and looked a bit disturbed about it. "Um… Ron? I'll go with Fred, okay?" She was blushing with discomfort. "Sorry," she muttered so Fred couldn't hear. She walked into the Great Hall with him, his arm around her. Ron felt his blood rise and his heart pump with annoyance.

He stormed into the Great Hall and sat himself between Ginny and Harry (and George, who was next to Harry). "What's wrong?" asked Ginny, patting her brother on the back and then reaching over to offer him some turkey. "Nothing," he muttered calmly, sighing and looking up at the star-studded ceiling, the red in his face lessening. "It's Hermione and Fred, isn't it?" she said, a hint of amusement in her voice. "You mek ishoun lie err oo edder," was all that came out through all the bread and turkey in Ron's mouth. "What?" she asked, obviously not understanding him. "Never mind," he replied, trying to sound pleasant (but not succeeding). Ginny, at that point, dropped the subject and gave her full attention to her dinner.

Harry could see, as anyone would by now, Ron was very irritated with Fred and had every intention to hurt him. Analyzing the situation at hand, and considering Ron wasn't exactly the brightest fairy light you'd come across, Harry finished his dinner and made a mental note to talk to Ron tomorrow about Hermione.

A/N: I liked this chapter. Really, I liked it a lot. Please review!


	4. Hermione vs Chocolate Frogs

Disclaimer: Found at the beginning of this story! Period! Oh, and please keep in mind that this story was started before HBP. The ones after this will be post-HBP. Thank you!

A/N: This chapter is especially for FSL, my ever-faithful boy-bud. OH YES! And here are the cookies I promised Mary Terensky… and Draco. (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) –For all three of us!

Harry was just coming out of the Great Hall, when he bumped into his girlfriend, Cho Chang, who was visiting for Christmas.

"Hi, Harry," she said cheerfully, taking his hand. "Is it true about Ron?"

"What about Ron?" he replied, walking with her upstairs.

"That thing… about Ron. With his brother and Hermione."

"How'd you know about _that_?"

"The whole school knows about it… except for Ron, maybe."

"That's very true," said Harry a little unhappily, "He can be really thick sometimes."

Cho laughed as if to say, "_Sometimes_?" Harry laughed awkwardly, half-knowing that this was correct.

"Okay, so the entire universe knows it but Ron," he finished exasperatedly.

"I hope you intend to do something about that!" she said commandingly.

"I do, I do!" her boyfriend said, afraid of being slapped, even teasingly.

Cho gave him an apologetic look. She looked wistfully at the school grounds for several seconds. "I really miss this place," she said quietly. Harry shrugged. "Well, you're here now," he replied as softly. "No," she answered, leaving him slightly confused. "_You're_ here now, which is what really matters to me. One of the reasons I miss school… is, well… you."

Harry blushed slightly. He smiled as looked at her long, black hair, her dark brown eyes, her—

"So what do you plan to do about Ron?"

His peaceful thoughts were interrupted. _And I was just about to get some_, part of his mind scolded, disappointedly. "I'm going to talk to him about it. Definitely," he said. "When did talking to him ever help?" Cho asked, sounding skeptical.

"Don't worry," he reassured her, dropping her off at the Room of Requirement, which was to be the visitors' quarters over the holidays, "it will." Cho kissed him goodnight and waved him away. On his way up to Gryffindor Tower, he thought he knew just how to talk to Ron.

_THE NEXT DAY_

"Thanks for taking the time, Harry." They were up in the dormitory during free period, and Ron agreed to let Harry know some of the things that had been bothering him lately.

"No problem, mate. I'm here to help… so, whatever you want to say, just fire, I'm listening."

"Well, mate, it's about Hermione…" He sank into his bed, scratching the back of his neck nervously, as though he knew something was going to come out.

"Yeah?" Harry was listening intently, as he promised.

"You know, nowadays…" There was silence for a few minutes. Harry was still listening.

"Nowadays what?" he asked.

"Well, I don't know… whenever I see her with Fred, I can't help but get mad…"

It was exactly as he and Cho predicted. Harry thought for a moment. He really had to say what he had to say properly and tactfully, yet frank straightforward… otherwise Ron might get:

Extremely mad,

Very offended,

Or just inexplicably confused.

"Well?" persisted Ron, "What do I do?" Harry thought still. "Ron," he said, "Let's put it this way. You like Hermione." Harry closed his eyes tightly, awaiting the punch that was most likely coming his way. Surprisingly, it did not come. "Of course I like Hermione! She's my friend!" said Ron, as though this were the most obvious thing in the world, which it technically was. Harry sighed with both relief (that Ron didn't hit him) and frustration (that his best mate still didn't get it). Ron gave him an expression that said, quite simply, "What'd I do!"

Harry sighed again and ran his hand through his hair, spinning around in one of those Muggle mobile office chairs (this made Ron sort of dizzy). Then he put a foot down on the floor to stop it whirling. "Let's put it like this," he said, hoping he'd be as lucky as the first time, "you like Hermione… like you like Chocolate Frogs!" Harry was making a desperate and half-pathetic attempt at analogies, keeping at the very back of his mind the fact that Ron was no Einstein.

"I've never wanted to _eat_ her," reasoned Ron, looking as though Harry were the thick one between the two of them. "No, no," the other boy said, waving away this comment. "It's like the way you can't live without them—er, I mean—can't go without them for very long." A spark of comprehension lit up in Ron's pale but now reddening face.

"You," he said angrily, pointing at Harry. Then he turned on his heel and marched out of the dormitory, muttering things like, "completely missed it," and "supposed to be my friend," and a rather distinct, "almost as bad as Fred and Hermione". Despite this hostility, Harry knew he had done his job, and that he had done it quite well.

A/N: o.0 Review please!


	5. Goodnight

Disclaimer/Author's Note: I don't own any of this, except for the words, maybe. Now, there's a contest that will get me to the UK for free (if I win). Hope and pray for me! Anyway, there's also this program I have to rehearse for, so, in other words, I'm extremely busy. Oh, and the DSL was busted. Okay, on with the story:

Ron had just stormed out of his conversation with Harry, and he was marching down the stairs in complete displeasure of what his best friend said. Of course, he _liked_ Hermione well enough to be able to appreciate her (even if it was only recently). 'But,' he thought to himself as he trudged downstairs, 'I could never—no, no, really ever… l—lo—laaaah—ll—lo—oh, crap, now I can't even think the word.'

Suddenly, Fred came walking up to him, saying a bit loudly, "Hi, Ron! Have you seen Hermione?"

Slowly, gradually, Ron could feel all the anger, frustration, exasperation, infuriation, aggravation, annoyance, irritation—and every other dangerous word that means, "pissed off"—boiling up inside him. He could feel his blood rising, and he could feel heat from within himself. He could sense that he was turning very red, and it was obvious that Fred noticed.

"Ron? I just want to know where—"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGHHHHHHHH!"

Fred fell to the floor as Ron tried to strangle him. He, too, was becoming a different color: a deep purple that clearly indicated he was making his way out of this world. He panicked. 'It shouldn't have ended this way, brother against brother, even if we always were at war.' Then George caught his eye.

"Orj… elp…me!" His twin lunged on Ron's back, trying to pry his hands off of Fred's throat. "Ron, you maniac! Let him go!" as he said this, Ron raised a fist from his brother's quickly so as to punch George in the face. George keeled over, clutching his bleeding nose. Then Ron turned back to Fred, with his fist raised. Ron punched unmercifully.

Now, Fred could just see George struggling to get up and have another go at Ron. He decided he could still get Ron off of him himself. So he kicked frantically as his brother gave him a black eye and enhancing it all the while. Finally, he managed to aim at Ron's shins; he gave another yell, and George had just gathered enough strength to punch Ron thrice. But the black eyes didn't seem to bother him at all; all that he wanted to do then was kill Fred (and Colin Creevey, too, for that matter, who was taking pictures of all of this), who now had his undivided attention.

"You!" he panted, holding his bruised shins and cut lip, "And… 'Mione…" Ron suddenly turned red with anger again and tried to lunge once more at Fred. But he knew better this time; he pinned Ron to the wall by _his_ throat! George then held his arms in place so that they could do no more damage.

Then Fred cried, "I DON'T LIKE HERMIONE, **YOU** DO!" Then he and his twin let go of their brother, and walked away to apply the medication they had brought in case this happened, which as you can see just did.

Ron stood there, dumbfounded. He was about to walk out to head for the hospital wing, when Hermione came in through the portrait hole. She looked up to see the thoroughly injured Ron, and gasped loudly but sincerely. "Ron!" she cried, holding her hand out but not touching his wounds. "What happened to you?" Ron gulped at the sight of her so worried, while thinking about how true Fred's last statement was, and said, "I'd rather not say," knowing that if he _did_ say exactly what happened, she'd burst into tears and injure him even further. He also knew that if he twisted the truth even just a little, she'd find out sooner or later what really occurred.

It was clear that Hermione wanted to continue interrogating him until he answered suitably, but it was also obvious that she was struggling with the same temptation. A sigh indicated that she would not proceed with it. Instead, she just said, "Come on. I'll treat your cuts."

Ron was inexplicably delighted at the prospect.

After dinner, around 9 o'clock that evening, Hermione told him that it was time to treat his injuries again. "I could help you with N.E.W.T.'s too, if you want," she offered, her voice still trembling with concern. Ron did not need to think about this; he readily agreed. They sat near the fireplace for so long that by the time they looked around (for the first time), everyone had apparently gone to bed. Ron saw this as an opportunity. But exactly _how_ to do it…

"Hermione?" he said, as she was applying essence of murtlap to his arms.

"Yes?" she said serenely.

"There's this thing between me and, um, Pig… you know, my owl?"

"Yeah?" she said, puzzled. Ron could see she had just looked up in complete surprise.

"Well, you know… I'm always complaining about him, right? But lately… I've been thinking, see… I mean, we can't really get along, can we?" he said, laughing a bit.

"No," agreed Hermione, listening calmly but intently.

"It's just that, you know… if I were to lose him, I don't think that… well, you know… take it very well."

"I know," she replied, getting up and walking upstairs. "Goodnight Ron."

"Wait! Don't go yet! Hermione, you know, I'm not really talking about Pig!"

Hermione stopped for a moment, grinning to herself with her back still facing Ron. Then she turned around and walked back downstairs, toward him.

"Ron…"

"Hermione, I'm not talking—"

He was interrupted by her finger on his lips.

"Ron," she began. "I know. Goodnight."

_The End_.


End file.
